pssssst! brainfag is retired! i'm now at natebeaty.com

 

Ubuntu + Wine + IEs4Linux = happy Natron

posted in Geek Talk on May 04, 2006

I'm dumbstruck. Flabbergasted. Happy as a clam. Need more? No, no, I'll stop. What has caused such jovial cliches to issue forth from my recently dentist-scraped mouthbox? Well, it's geektastic, but here it is: the Ubuntu linux distro is totally rad. Debian linux in general is rad. Why? I just typed apt-get install wine to installed the latest copy of Wine (which allows one to run Windows apps on a linux machine), and then downloaded a 300k script IEs4Linux which automated the whole process of installing various versions of the dagger-in-the-foot of all webdesigners: Internet Explorer.

Then I type ie6 or ie55 and wham-O I have a functional Explorer to test all its infuriating CSS quirks which quickly drive my linux-borne joy into the ground. Actually, it didn't for what I was testing: a simple Gallery page I whipped up for the hilarious folks over at guyandrodd.com.

And all I had to do with newportviewhome was add the dumb text-align:center for the body which centers the entire website. Genius! Them boys at Microsoft were really ON TARGET with that gem -- "Hey, let's make an attribute related to TEXT center the entire website. And for kicks, lets ignore the standards-compliant method all other browsers use, margin:auto, to center block elements. Oho! That's not enough! How 'bout we don't update our browser for FOUR YEARS?! Haha!"

Whatever. Anyway, I was happy it was so freaking simple to get a copy of Explorer running on my up-and-coming server slash linux box o' joy. Now if I could just write a virus to replace every household's browser with Firefox, I'd be REALLY happy.

8 comments on this entry

Hooray. Now all you need is an intel mac that triple-boots into windows, linux, and esperanto.

Joseph 5/4/06
 

How did you decipher my plans?! Blast!

Nate 5/4/06
 

While you're at it Nate, put a few lines of code in your virus to switch everyone's keyboards to DVORAK!

Alec 5/5/06
 

hey nate, it's ken dahl, who people usually call gabby these days when they meet me in person. i was just writing to say i was in town and hi. my pal sascha told me there used to be some kind of cartoonist hangout thing in town here a while ago. is there anything like that anymore?

ken dahl/gabby 5/6/06
 

hey ken -- the old comix cafe gig Shawn Granton hosted has died out. but Dylan Williams just wrote me about something starting up next week, and the fella that does cartoonist interviews on KBOO (blanking on his name right now) hosts a get-together every once in a while at the Horse's Ass in SE.

i'll have more details soon .. i'm out of town right now, back on monday. you can email me at the addy in the footer (nate at this domain) and i'll send em when i get back home.

nate 5/6/06
 

You're dumbstruck? Are those all English words or are you communicating in some kinda Geekalatino code?
You'll be hearing from the NSA any time now buddy...

ddo 5/12/06
 

Gabby/Robess,

Time to drink with "real alcoholics" again. Remember the fundamentals...

- V & C

P.S. You still have $0.68 left on your Club Joe card.

Vanessa 8/23/06
 

Why would putting firefox on everyone's computer be a virus? i think it would be a virus NOT to do that!

Nontitle 1/2/07
 
 

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